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“I mean, if you could have an ideal outcome, from all of this, what would it look like?”
David knew she was asking for a reason, so he took his time thinking about the question before answering. “Liam would be charged with a felony, Ashley would be charged with a misdemeanor, and I’d use that to get sole custody of Jacob, because full custody is no longer enough.”
Lauren steepled her hands together. “All right. So, what do you want first—the good news, or the bad news?”
“The bad news.”
“Okay, the bad news is that it’s unlikely any charges will be brought against either Liam, or Ashley, not based on what I’ve uncovered.”
He stared, appalled. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not … bad enough.”
Now, he was pissed. “What?”
Lauren held up her hands. “That’s obviously not my opinion, or yours. I do think it’s bad enough, but I’ve been around the overrun legal system long enough to know what to expect, and the most likely response to my reporting this will be … not a whole hell of a lot.
“The case against Liam is fairly strong, possibly strong enough for an investigation to be opened—and by investigation, I really mean that Liam would likely only be asked a few questions—but given the volume of reports, and the shortage of staff, it’s doubtful. But, if there was an investigation, a felony charge would be unlikely, since he could argue he hadn’t meant to say the things he’d said, and was very sorry for saying them, and his physical abuse of Jacob was nothing more than a few disciplinary ‘spankings’, which can be allowed by law. That would clearly be a stretch, given the context of the ‘spankings’, but it would come down to what would be considered reasonable or unreasonable … and since Liam didn’t leave any bruises, the case could reasonably be made against physical harm.”
Lauren paused, taking a moment to choose her next words carefully. “Also, you should know that during this possible investigation, Jacob would be questioned in an official capacity, and children his age rarely do well. It’s a scary situation for them to be in, especially after going through trauma, and the majority of the time they end up walking back their story a little out of fear, weakening the case against their abuser.”
David pictured a scared Jacob being questioned by a stranger and having to go through the nightmare with Liam again, and could hardly stand the thought of it.
“However,” Lauren continued, “if Liam was charged with a misdemeanor, chances are that he would get probation, especially if he has a clean record, a decent job, owns his own home, and appears before a judge in a nice suit and tie, looking like an upstanding citizen—maybe with his crying mother sitting behind him for good measure. But, given that he’s not a parent or guardian, his probation would probably include having no contact with Jacob, so that would be a win … at least while his probation was in effect, which could be as little as six months.”
“That’s it?”
“I’m afraid so. Now, as far as Ashley goes, her case is the weaker of the two, so if there was an investigation—and again, it would likely come down to Ashley getting asked a few questions—Jacob would be questioned during this time, too. And as hard as it would be to answer questions about Liam, it would be much harder for him to answer questions about Ashley, because she’s his mother, and even if the bond is tenuous, it’s still there. If she did end up being charged with anything, it would probably only be neglect or negligence—”
“What about ‘failure to protect’?”
Lauren shook her head. “That would only apply if she knew what Liam was doing, and failed to do anything about it, and I honestly don’t think she knows.”
David sighed. “Okay.”
“Now then,” Lauren continued, “if Ashley was charged with neglect or negligence—a misdemeanor—that would almost certainly be bumped down to probation by the judge, if not outright dismissed.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. We have several lenient judges when it comes to single mothers, and I rarely see them proceed with investigations, let alone charges, especially against first time offenders who don’t look like drug addicts. And if that happened, Ashley would likely maintain her custodial status as long as she didn’t violate her probation, which could be as little as six months.”
“So, basically, what you’re telling me is that probably nothing will happen to Ashley, and her douchebag boyfriend would maybe get probation?”
“I hate to say it, but … yes. In cases like this, people who do get questioned during an investigation, either lie about what they’ve done or pretend they’re really sorry and are usually given the benefit of the doubt, then released. More often than not, they go on to abuse again and again, until there are injuries that can’t be overlooked and there have to be charges. But until that happens, nothing happens.”
“Fuck.” David got to his feet and began pacing around the office, disgusted and agitated at hearing all of that. “So, what’s the good news?”
“The good news is that if I submit my findings and they are deemed to be insufficient to open an investigation, there still might be a way for you to get sole custody.”
“Really? What is it?”
Lauren gave a little shake of her head. “I’d rather not discuss Plan B until we have to, okay? And I should know by early next week if we have to.”
“Okay.”
“In the meantime, I assume you’ll want to restrict Ashley’s access to Jacob, so his visitation with her this weekend will need to be cancelled.”
Chapter 54
